Law and religion round-up – 24th March

A week that saw the Home Office reach a new low in religious illiteracy…

… and continued interest in Robert Meakin’s 2016 post, Gilmour v Coats Revisited on public benefit and the advancement of religion.

Religious illiteracy or just plain nastiness?

The social media was awash with reports last week that a Home Office official had rejected an asylum application from an Iranian Muslim who had converted to Christianity in the belief that it was the true religion of peace – because the Home Office did not believe the veracity of the claimed conversion. In the refusal letter, the official quoted several “nasty” bits from the Bible to show that Christianity was not as peaceful as the Iranian Christian claimed it to be – which, in his view, proved that the conversion was not genuine.

As we reported, this drew a sharp rebuke from the Bishop of Durham, Continue reading